States: Mississippi, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas
Miles driven: 775
Miles hiked: 0
Slept: The Bunny Mobile in a rest area.
10 words or less: Chased by dogs in Tupelo. Alternator dies. Ipod dies. Nooooooooo!
Why do they call it Toad Suck?
Ever the budget conscious traveler, I high-tailed it out of the park around sunrise, before the park rangers came along to see who did and did not pay for their tent sites. Yeah, I’m a true blue American supporter of our state park systems, right? I felt sure karma was going to catch up with me for the $8. Other than getting chased down the road by a pack of dogs, I didn’t think karma would happen so fast.
Passing through Memphis then getting deep into Arkansas, karma let me know it wasn’t going to let me get away with any crap. Driving down the busy I-40 at 80 mph, suddenly the car is jolted. I mean like 80 to 0 and back up to maybe 30 in a split second. Everything in the car shut down, including the power steering, and I had to fight the steering wheel in an agonizing roll from the left lane over to the right shoulder. Did I mention I was originally going 80 mph in traffic? How I didn’t get splatted by a semi is beyond me. I stood on the side of the road, 113° temps making this a pleasant sensation, half hoping I could just give the car a rest and everything would be ok and half hoping someone would come along and rescue me. Two highway workers picking up trash came upon my pitiful scene, one of which called his wife to ask for the name of that place that did towing; “no, not the one Chuck’s cousin ran, the other one, with the guy whose mom used to work for Jessie. Yeah, that one.” He was kind enough to wait until he was sure a wrecker was on the way. My location? Toad Suck, Arkansas. A few hours later I was back on the road with a new alternator (for about half the price my research told me to expect to pay). I had mapped out a new, shorter and less scenic route to reach my next main destination of Denver to make up for the time I’d lost in Toad Suck.
Girl on a Ledge 